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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
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WHAT IS ROLFING?
Rolfing is a system for improving
human physical structure and function. By slowly
stretching and freeing the connective tissue –
which holds muscles, bones and organs together –
Rolfers (practitioners of Rolfing) restore flexibility,
alignment and comfort to the body.
WHY DO PEOPLE GET ROLFED?
Stress, trauma, and repeated imbalanced movement
will eventually shorten the connective tissue leaving
the body less flexible and often imbalanced. Rolfing
reverses this process with slow hands-on manipulation
that restores length, flexibility and balance.
HOW DOES ROLFING WORK?
On the physical level,
the Rolfer slowly uses his hands to release adhesions,
strains, and sprains in the connective tissue. The
muscles become freer as the connective tissue around
the muscles become more flexible. On the nervous
system level, the body becomes more aware of itself
and much less prone to injury.
HOW IS IT SET UP? WHAT
WILL MY FIRST APPOINTMENT BE LIKE?
In the first session we will talk about your physical
history and then begin to slowly release the connective
tissue layer by layer. The basic series of Rolfing
consists of ten sessions which usually run between
and hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and a half.
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Most people start by scheduling
a single session to see if they like they
work before they decide to do the entire series.
I'VE HEARD THAT PEOPLE USE ROLFING TO OPEN
OR RELEASE EMOTIONS THAT MAY BE HELD IN THE
BODY. TRUE?
Any emotion we have is
actually a physical event that changes the
tone, length, position and even temperature
of our muscles and connective tissue. Repeated
or traumatic events can be recorded as stress,
sadness or fear that is held in the body in
the form of rigidity, jumpiness, and changes
in posture. As the Rolfing slowly and carefully
releases the tissue, these feelings dissolve
in a way that is not overwhelming or re-traumatizing.
HOW DOES ROLFING IMPROVE
POSTURE, ALIGNMENT OR STRUCTURE?
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Rolfers look at someone
and ask themselves, "How can I make this
person more comfortable in the gravity field?"
By restoring length and flexibility to the
body, Rolfers work to take the effort out
of standing upright and to make it easier
to rest comfortably in alignment with gravity.
DOES ROLFING HURT? I'VE HEARD RUMORS...
Often people will “feel” an old
injury or pain as it is released through Rolfing,
but that is followed by the feeling of relief
and well-being as flexibility and balance
is restored to those areas.
WHEN I GET ROLFED, WILL
THE CHANGES LAST?
The changes will not only
last but they often continue after the sessions
are over. In the same way that an imbalanced
movement will eventually distort or wear down
the alignment of the body, balanced and efficient
movements will build the body back up. Everyday
movements will maintain and even improve the
effects of the Rolfing.
WON'T MY BAD HABITS
PULL MY BODY BACK OUT OF ALIGNMENT?
Rolfing increases the body
awareness and makes people more sensitive
to the effect of “bad habits” or
imbalanced movement patterns. It naturally
feels better to be efficient and balanced
so the body instinctively will move in a more
balanced way -because it feels better.
WHY IS ROLFING SOMETIMES
SPECIFICALLY USED TO TREAT THE EFFECTS OF
SHOCK AND/OR TRAUMA?
The effects of shock
and trauma are extensive, involving the nervous
system as well as the physical structure and
function of the body. At times, a physical
symptom or imbalance can connect to other
deeper symptoms of trauma that may be buried
in one's nervous system or memory. In recent
years, many Rolfers have deepened their understanding
of trauma and its treatment by studying the
techniques of Dr. Peter Levine (known as Somatic
Experiencing.) These techniques have increased
the trauma healing component of Rolfing. Some
people choose to continue with separate session
of Somatic Experiencing to help resolve the
effects of trauma in their bodies and their
lives.
WHAT IS ADVANCED
ROLFING?
After the basic Rolfing
is completed, the body evolves and changes,
and in time deeper, more subtle work becomes
possible. The advanced Rolfing designed for
the Rolfing client who has already had the
basic 10-session series.
WHO WAS IDA ROLF?
Ida Rolf was an American
Biochemist who studied the flexibility of
proteins in connective tissue in the 1930’s
and 1940’s. During that period her son
was ill and she could not find a doctor who
could properly diagnose his condition. She
finally realized that her son’s problems
were due to pressure on his internal organs
from a compressed physical structure. Following
an instinct, she began to massage and manipulate
his body until the pressure was released and
his problems disappeared. She went on to develop
Rolfing over a 30 year period. Ida Rolf created
the Rolf Institute after many years of writing
and lecturing.
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